The Silicon Values and Education Technology
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
We will examine the ClassDojo app, an online classroom communication and behavior management platform currently used in over ninety percent of K-8 classrooms in the U.S. Specifically, we will discuss how the app carries the stamp of the “Silicon Values”—competition, disruption, connectivity, individualization, quantification, and speed—and describe how such values may come to bear upon classrooms where ClassDojo is deployed. Finally, we will discuss the need for teacher-focused critical media literacy around Silicon Values and critical media literacy.
Abstract of Proposal
As a result of advancements in both internet and device access within U.S. schools, Silicon Valley education technology startups are increasingly able to work around the education bureaucracy by offering free platforms and services (e.g., Google Classroom) directly to educators. Consequently, Silicon Valley-developed learning tools have proliferated throughout education over the last decade, exerting a powerful influence on classroom discourses and practices at all levels, from early-childhood education to higher education. Engaging with this phenomenon, we will examine how what we call the “Silicon Values”—competition, disruption, connectivity, individualization, quantification, and speed—are entangled with the products developed, marketed, and delivered to educators by Silicon Valley ed-tech startups. To develop this line of thinking, we will focus on how the Silicon Values come to bear upon classroom discourses and practices around one massively popular ed-tech product: ClassDojo, an online classroom communication and behavior management platform currently used in over ninety percent of K-8 classrooms in the United States. We will conclude by attending to the need for teacher-focused critical media literacy around local practices for adopting classroom technologies, and we will offer suggestions for implementing such critical dialogue in schools.
Location
Session 4B (Summit, Double Tree)
Start Date
2-23-2019 8:30 AM
End Date
2-23-2019 10:00 AM
Recommended Citation
Robinson, Bradley and Milbourne, Jeff, "The Silicon Values and Education Technology" (2019). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 29.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2019/2019/29
The Silicon Values and Education Technology
Session 4B (Summit, Double Tree)
As a result of advancements in both internet and device access within U.S. schools, Silicon Valley education technology startups are increasingly able to work around the education bureaucracy by offering free platforms and services (e.g., Google Classroom) directly to educators. Consequently, Silicon Valley-developed learning tools have proliferated throughout education over the last decade, exerting a powerful influence on classroom discourses and practices at all levels, from early-childhood education to higher education. Engaging with this phenomenon, we will examine how what we call the “Silicon Values”—competition, disruption, connectivity, individualization, quantification, and speed—are entangled with the products developed, marketed, and delivered to educators by Silicon Valley ed-tech startups. To develop this line of thinking, we will focus on how the Silicon Values come to bear upon classroom discourses and practices around one massively popular ed-tech product: ClassDojo, an online classroom communication and behavior management platform currently used in over ninety percent of K-8 classrooms in the United States. We will conclude by attending to the need for teacher-focused critical media literacy around local practices for adopting classroom technologies, and we will offer suggestions for implementing such critical dialogue in schools.
